To improve driver convenience, a vehicle may be provided with a heads-up display (HUD) device which displays information to a vehicle occupant, particularly the driver. The information displayed by the HUD device may be projected onto a surface of the windshield of the vehicle so as to present the information in the driver's view while the driver is driving. By displaying the information in the driver's view, the driver does not need to look away from the windshield (e.g., toward an instrument display on a center dashboard) while driving to see the presented information.
The HUD device may present vehicle information typically displayed in the vehicle's center dashboard, such as information related to the vehicle's speed, fuel level, engine temperature, etc. Additionally, the HUD device may also present map information and communication events (e.g., navigation instructions, warnings and alerts, etc.) to the driver. The vehicle HUD device may present the information to the driver in a manner similar to that employed by the vehicle dashboard, such as by displaying gauges and text boxes which appear as graphic elements on the windshield. Additionally, the vehicle HUD device may present augmented reality graphic elements which augment a physical environment surrounding the vehicle with real-time information.
However, current HUD devices used in vehicles can be limited, specifically those HUD devices that are partially placed within a steering compartment of the dashboard. These HUD devices can occupy needed space within the dashboard often times resulting in reduced component sizes or alternate locations for other vehicle hardware.